Getting back to writing

Last week, I was out for a formal dinner with some colleagues. Amid regular getting-to-know questions, one that stood out to me was “What do you do outside of the office?” Even though I am busy from the moment I wake up, to the time when I finally switch off my phone and sleep, I realized that day that since past couple of years, I have not worked on any of my specific hobbies or a personal project!

Side note: Apparently, playing games on X-box or assembling so many pieces of furniture for your new house that one can easily qualify any carpentering exams does not count.

I started remembering the things I liked and the side projects I worked on during me pre-MBA life in India. Travelling – it is something I do to relax, not as a personal project. Reading – sure, but the number of books I have read in 2017 stands at 3. Writing – the last time I wrote on this blog was over 12 months ago! Coding – I have quit more times than I have started! Running – Although, I increased my stamina to go up to 12kms in one go, I have not been regular in the last 7-8 weeks.

The same night, I went out to buy a mop to clean up the spider-webs from this blog. Currently, I am going through quite an exciting period in my life, and if I properly get down to jotting some nice experiences, I can fill up a few hundred pages! So, why not!

When I started this blog page a few years ago, I decided that everything I write here should be either:

Something I am knowledgeable about

About a year and a half ago, I switched careers – from a procurement advisory function, I have moved full time to an energy management and automation firm. This is a completely new industry for me, and I am picking up new things daily. I have a lot of stuff in my head to write about – renewable energy (especially solar) and its impacts on the grid, building management systems with the focus on energy efficiency, automation and digitization of the manufacturing industry, 3D printing to name a broad few topics.

Every time I pick up a notepad (yes, I am old school when it comes to writing) to write about these topics, I feel quite underwhelmed with the things I know vs. the things there are actually worth knowing about the topics I am going to write about. If you look at the chart below, I am currently hovering over the valley of despair!

Dunning Kruger Effect

Something I am learning about

The target at the very top of my mind is my slow progress on learning the French language. I am doing ok in reading newspaper level French, however, when it comes to speaking and more importantly listening to French, I fall flat on my face. There is nothing worth writing on this topic, but just leaving it here as a casual reminder to self.

The other thing I am learning is nuggets of history about the things I like and the things I am discovering. Just in the past quarter, I have learnt about the The Ashes Cup while touring The Lord's stadium in London, the fine art of making scotch while touring The Glenlivet distillery in Scotland, life of Pablo Picasso and the depiction of his state of mind through his paintings in Musée national Picasso (Picasso museum) in Paris, among tens of other things.

Wait, these all sound pretty solid ideas to pen down what I learnt, remembered and then augment with external research!